But there’s a lesson in a bumper sticker: keep it simple. The current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is an absolute master of the pithy slogan. It’s a key to his influence, and perhaps the essence of his presidency.

The “no farms, no beer” sticker is a variation on a theme. You see a lot of “no farms, no food” stickers in America’s agricultural areas, courtesy of a campaign by NGO group American Farmland Trust, which is backed by farmers, agricultural groups and wealthy donors like the Rockefellers. Want a free bumper sticker? They’ll get you one, and you’ll be inundated with some beautiful photos of rolling hills, children eating vegetables and handsome people in rubber boots.

And you know what? The message works. The simple linking of a food to the land and people producing it is powerful, and something the aquaculture industry has failed to do.

In a time of renewed energy for marketing campaigns in both shrimp and salmon, the industry would be wise to stop, think, and dumb down aquaculture’s complicated message.

AquaChile's Victor Hugo Puchi did it well in a recent speech at AquaSur.

"We created this opportunity, people prospered, families doubled their income," he said to the audience of industry members.

"This is not always recognized...I say it every time I have the chance because I'm proud of it."

So while employment and provenance is a point of pride among a lot of fish farming industry veterans, and talked about among one another, the messaging rarely seems to make it back to the consumer.

Some are doing a good job pulling this off, or at least trying to. Whenever I mention the words “Norway” and “marketing” in the same sentence the rest of the industry throws up their hands and points to their seafood council’s multi-million-kroner budget, but still – the Laks er Viktig for Norge (Salmon is important for Norway) campaign does an excellent job going out on the farms and speaking with the people raising the fish (yes, Norwegian consumers need convincing of the industry's importance as much as anywhere else). It's a fancy website, but a simple message.

No matter the financing – multi millions of dollars or a 10-cent bumper sticker – a simple message can pack a powerful punch. Though salmon-safe beer is already taken, there are plenty of other ways the aquaculture can link itself to things people truly value.

But there’s a lesson in a bumper sticker: keep it simple. The current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is an absolute master of the pithy slogan. It’s a key to his influence, and perhaps the essence of his presidency.

The “no farms, no beer” sticker is a variation on a theme. You see a lot of “no farms, no food” stickers in America’s agricultural areas, courtesy of a campaign by NGO group American Farmland Trust, which is backed by farmers, agricultural groups and wealthy donors like the Rockefellers. Want a free bumper sticker? They’ll get you one, and you’ll be inundated with some beautiful photos of rolling hills, children eating vegetables and handsome people in rubber boots.

And you know what? The message works. The simple linking of a food to the land and people producing it is powerful, and something the aquaculture industry has failed to do.

In a time of renewed energy for marketing campaigns in both shrimp and salmon, the industry would be wise to stop, think, and dumb down aquaculture’s complicated message.

AquaChile's Victor Hugo Puchi did it well in a recent speech at AquaSur.

"We created this opportunity, people prospered, families doubled their income," he said to the audience of industry members.

"This is not always recognized...I say it every time I have the chance because I'm proud of it."

So while employment and provenance is a point of pride among a lot of fish farming industry veterans, and talked about among one another, the messaging rarely seems to make it back to the consumer.

Some are doing a good job pulling this off, or at least trying to. Whenever I mention the words “Norway” and “marketing” in the same sentence the rest of the industry throws up their hands and points to their seafood council’s multi-million-kroner budget, but still – the Laks er Viktig for Norge (Salmon is important for Norway) campaign does an excellent job going out on the farms and speaking with the people raising the fish (yes, Norwegian consumers need convincing of the industry's importance as much as anywhere else). It's a fancy website, but a simple message.

No matter the financing – multi millions of dollars or a 10-cent bumper sticker – a simple message can pack a powerful punch. Though salmon-safe beer is already taken, there are plenty of other ways the aquaculture can link itself to things people truly value.

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